Asian markets were mostly lower on Tuesday, as Chinese stocks continued to decline on fears of a flood of new listings, while Japanese stocks got a boost from a weaker yen. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.2%.

After lackluster Thanksgiving weekend sales, early estimates indicated that online shopping was up by 17.5% compared to this time last year. Sales are expected to hit $2 billion, according to the research firm comScore. Last year, sales equated to around $1.47 billion. Mobile devices, from smartphones to tablets, accounted for more than 29% of online traffic, according to IBM Benchmark data. “2013 is the year online went mobile,” Josh Anderson, the president and CEO of Walmart.com told the Associated Press. Today’s results provide good news for retailers who were expected to experience a 2.9% drop in sales over the Thanksgiving weekend. [Associated Press]

A budget-stretching tactic employed by strapped local governments from California to Puerto Rico is coming under market scrutiny, amid fears that Detroit's record bankruptcy filing could presage further pain.